


Run, Rabbit, Run

by lenaluthor



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: F/F, and more relevant to the mfs storyline, heavily inspired by pet sematary because i'm reading it right now, just gayer, might need to update the rating later on we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lenaluthor/pseuds/lenaluthor
Summary: With just moments before 6:00pm, Scylla made the only choice she had left."Let's run away."orThe one where instead of being ripped apart after their dance at the wedding, Raelle and Scylla chose to run away together.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> you don't need to know anything about Pet Sematary in order to understand. I've just mirrored some storylines and put in some Easter Eggs but that's all. :-) Let me know if you think you see all the easter egg!

Raelle Collar, despite all the reservations she had about the Army, never in a million years thought she would have the guts to actually run away.

Yet there she was, sitting in the driver’s seat of an old Jeep Patriot, with her girlfriend, driving away from the only institution she knew.

Scylla was asleep to her right, the sun’s rays illuminating what was already a masterpiece. Her peaceful slumber was almost enough to settle Raelle’s thoughts, however her mind just kept running with questions of doubt.

As in, _what the hell are they even doing? Are they making a huge mistake? Should they just turn around right now? How are Tally and Abigail going to react? Did Raelle ruin their chances at War College? Why are they driving to Maine?_ _Are they technically UHauling right now?_

“Hey…” Scylla’s tired voice broke Raelle out of her stupor as she placed her palm delicately on Raelle’s cheek. Her voice was soft, a nice contrast to the cocky, sarcastic tone she usually spoke in. “How’s my beautiful Uber driver?”

Raelle let out a small laugh, turning her head slightly to leave a kiss on Scylla’s hand. “How’s my beautiful navigator? Oh wait, you fell asleep after 30 minutes of driving.”

Scylla took a deep breath in and stretched out her arms. “I like car rides.” She exhaled, her voice rising as her vocal cords began working after hours at rest. “Besides, you seemed to have navigated just fine. You amaze me every day.”

Raelle just had to let out another laugh. “I got on the I-95 and then followed the signs that said ‘Maine’. I wouldn’t call that amazing.”

Scylla affectionately rolled her eyes. “Well, thank you for not driving us off a cliff, that’s all.

“Me? Never.” Raelle reached over to grasp at Scylla’s hand. “Where are we going anyway?”

Scylla gently ran her thumb over Raelle’s. “It’s a Dodger house in Orrington run by Judson Crandall. It’s secure and he’ll be able to create new identities for us.” She squeezed Raelle’s hand. “You can be anyone.”

“Anyone?” Raelle scrunched up her face in fake thought. “I want to be… Rachel Creed. No! Doctor Rachel Creed. Family physician by day… supernatural author by night.”

“Hm. Now that’s sexy weird.”

“What about you? If you could be anyone, who would you choose?”

Scylla smiled sadly, realizing the irony of the question. “I would be… Joan Cleveland.” She snorted. “Living paycheque to paycheque because my body is wracked with horrible arthritis which renders me unable to hold a job.”

Raelle raised an eyebrow. “Am I supposed to just be your sugar mama now?”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine…” Scylla bit her lip, staring into the side of Raelle’s head. “Doctor.”

“Scylla…” Raelle took a deep breath in, then spoke in a sing-song manner. “I’m driving!”

Scylla just grinned and placed her hand on Raelle’s thigh. “You can exit here.” She motioned with her other hand.

The exit they had taken led them to a road that followed alongside a river. While there was nothing spectacular about the water itself, Raelle still felt the urge to just jump in and let the cold water wash her worries away, even if it would just be for a moment.

Scylla continued to lead her past small farmhouses, a grocery store, a taco stand… things that make up a typical town. The houses slowly started to become more spread apart, and eventually, Scylla motioned to turn on a dirt road heavily lined with trees.

_Ah yes, this makes more sense._ Raelle thought to herself as she bounced with the motions of car driving over potholes. Her uneasiness grew as the branches of the trees smacked against their vehicle. All her faith was in Scylla now.

Suddenly, the tunnel of trees opened up to a large opening of land. It was the perfect size for children to run around in, just was some were doing now. In the middle of the grass, a large New England colonial house, no, mansion was erected.

“This is it.” Scylla said quietly. She hadn’t seen the premises in a long time.

“It’s beautiful.” Raelle breathed out. “We’re going to live here?”

“Yeah.” Scylla laughed as Raelle pulled in and parked.

The door opened for them to see an elderly man holding a cigar in his hand. He squinted at them unceremoniously until they exited the vehicle.

“Scylla.” The man grunted. “I can’t say I was expecting you, but I’m not surprised.”

“Jud.” Scylla waved at the man. “I’m glad you’re still running this place.”

“Still? Are you calling me old?” Jud roared out in laughter, his voice and face quickly softening after. “Sorry about your folks, young un’. They were good people.”

Scylla gave him a curt nod and motioned towards Raelle. “This is my girlfriend. We’re both running away from the Army and we need help with new I.Ds.”

“Well, don’t we all.” Jud grinned. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, there’s an empty room upstairs. It has a mushroom hanging on the door. Get yourselves settled in. I’m looking forward to having new guests again.”

“You’re very kind.” Raelle speaks up.

“No worries at all.” Jud turns to head back inside and leaves the door open for them. “Not at all.”

* * *

It was almost 9pm when Raelle and Scylla finally settled in their room. Much to Raelle’s chagrin, Scylla fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Unfortunately, Raelle was just not as tired as her counterpart, so just like her mind, she wandered.

The wandering didn’t last too long, however, as she soon noticed that the kitchen light was already on, with none other than Jud Crandall standing by the window with another cigar in his hand.

“Hello young Missus.” He breathed out. “Want a beer? There’s some in the fridge. We also got rat cheese.”

Raelle was headed over to the fridge but paused quite shortly after. “Rat cheese?”

“I like to experiment with making my own cheese.”

“Oh.” She opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle out of the fridge. “I supposed everyone has their thing.”

Jud said nothing as she made her way over to sit on a chair.

“Is it just you here?” She said after taking a big gulp, the cold liquid hitting the back of her throat like ice cream on a summer’s day.

“Me and my wife Norma.” He took a long drag before putting out his cigar. “Me and her started this place up when she ran from the Army herself.”

“Your wife deserted the Army too?” Raelle tilted her head in curiousity.

“She sure did, that one. They worked her to death. She’s strong, but you can only be strong for so long. Being on the lines…” He shook his head. “Changes you. It sure does. Sometimes she wakes up with memories of what happened in those wars. She was never the same after. We both decided we wanted to help other people like her.”

“Like… Dodgers?”

“Yes, ma’am. The Army sends witches out to die in droves, and they don’t offer any help to those who are still alive. It was her last mission in New Jersey that sealed the deal.” Jud shook his head, not elaborating. “Nobody deserves to grow up knowing that there’s fate.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Raelle said sincerely. “I lost my mother while she was serving. My family… we never got any answers.”

Jud nodded. “Your father a civilian?”

“Yes.” A pause. “How did you know?”

“With all their talk about protecting civilians.” Jud said. “They sure don’t care for us when we marry their kind.”

“You’re a civilian too?”

“I sure am, ma’am. Wouldn’t have had time to learn how to forge I.Ds if I was a magical creature.” He said with a wink and started to walk away. “It will take me some time to recreate you and Scylla as new people. Since you two spent some time on their radar they probably have more than enough information to try and keep tabs on you, and... Young Missus?”

“Yes?”

“You try to get yourself some sleep. You can rest here. No more running for now.”


	2. Witch Sematary

_One week later_

Jud Crandall made his way across the grass to where Raelle and Scylla were sitting upon his lawn. They had just finished their brunch consisting of perfectly browned toast and freshly cracked eggs, curtesy of Jud himself.

"Jud." Scylla raised her cup of coffee in a greeting. "Thank you for this food."

Raelle nodded in agreement.

"It's my pleasure." Jud nodded, looking off into the distance. "There's something I want to show you two. We've all lost something in this witch's war. I'm hoping it will help you put your families to rest."

Scylla looked over to Raelle, who, in turn, nodded reluctantly. Her mother's death was still quite a sore subject for her, but she also recognized that Scylla still had some things to work through.

“That sounds nice.” Raelle stood up and helped Scylla do the same. “When do we start?”

* * *

About 10 minutes later was the answer to that question. Jud led them to a hidden trail at the back of the lawn. The grass suddenly became waist-high, and the three of them soon became dripped in sweat due to the high afternoon sun.

“I guess the Army was good for preparing us for something.” Raelle breathed out.

Jud chuckled and looked back at the pair. “Just up this hill now.”

As they trudged up the hill, a wide river flowing through a valley came into view as the trees became sparser. The sun’s golden hue shone down over the trees and empty patches of grass scattered all around.

“It’s beautiful.” Scylla paused to look out over the water.

“Sure is.” Jud answered, pulling a cigar out of nowhere. “Not too many people from town know about this place. The occasional young ‘un find it for sure, but the older folks tend to tell ol’ ghost stories about the witches the roam the woods.” He winked as he lit the cigar. “I suppose they’re right in a way.”

“There’s nothing but woods from here on out.” Jud continued to walk up the hill with stunning agility despite his old age. “Plenty of kids used to get lost out here. Of course, I tried to help find them, but some are gone forever.”

Raelle felt an uneasiness settle over herself and looked to Scylla for comfort, only to find Scylla hanging on to Jud’s every word.

“Are there animals out here?” Sweat was dripping down Scylla’s face but she didn’t seem to notice or even care if she did.

“Hm.” Jud took puffed on his cigar. “Sometimes moose. You don’t want to get close to those fellas though.”

Raelle moved closer to Scylla and grabbed her hand. Partly because she still felt uncomfortable and partly because her calves were starting to cramp. She never thought she would be missing the rigorous training they did in the military.

“How are you doing?” Scylla finally turned to look at Raelle.

“I’m fine.” Raelle said, a little more aggressive than she intended to. She let out a huff and softened her voice. “I’m just feeling out of shape, that’s all.”

The path ahead of them started to narrow and the trees became dense again, even more so than before.

“Should just be around this corner here.” Jud called back to them.

 _We’re going to get murdered in the woods by this man._ Raelle thought to herself. She clung on to Scylla’s hands a little bit tighter.

Suddenly, they came upon a perfectly rectangular clearing in the trees. A small, yet noticeable piece of wood was nailed to one of them, with the word “sematary” painted on it in black. All throughout the clearing there were markers of all sorts, such as broken palettes, wooden slates, and even scraps of tin.

“Wow.” Raelle said with barely any emotion as she tried to process where he brought them.

Scylla squeezed Raelle’s hand as she tried to do the same.

“A lot of Dodgers who come to me have lost someone on their journey.” Jud said quietly. “We try to memorialize them here. The civilians who find this place either think this place is haunted or it’s cemetery for pets. Either way, we know the truth.”

Scylla was the first one to walk forward and attempted to drag Raelle along with her, but instead she just unlatched her hand from Scylla’s and let her go on her own.

“So you brought us to a witch’s cemetery.” Raelle said, still deadpan.

“Kind of.” Jud said. “Ain’t no bodies here except the pets civilians bury. Just something to help honour their memory.”

Scylla continued walking inwards, examining each gravestone with curiousity. Inscriptions with witch family names such as _Trixie Patton (1958-1998)_ and regular pet names like _Biffer, the greatest cocker spaniel_ were scattered everywhere. Despite the environment they were in, Scylla couldn’t help but laugh. Civilians truly had no idea what the history was here, and in Scylla’s mind they desecrated the space by putting their beloved pets to rest in the same space as the great witches.

She began to walk back towards Jud and Raelle – whom Scylla noticed had not continued any further into the cemetery.

“How long has this been here?” Scylla said to help break the silence.

“I don’t know.” Jud shoved his hands into his pocket. “Although, I’m sure we could try to find the oldest grave.”

“I think we should go now.” Raelle said quickly, pleading at Scylla with her eyes.

“Sure.” Scylla said, finally noticing that Raelle wasn’t having the greatest time. Sure, she was a necro so she did appreciate these kinds of things, but she also loved her girlfriend just a little bit more. “I’ll come back here another time.”

* * *

Back at the house, Raelle immediately dragged Scylla into their room.

“What was that place?” She breathed out. “It didn’t feel good being there.”

Scylla raised an eyebrow. “They have a cemetery for the Army. It’s not that different from those.”

Raelle stared at Scylla. “It’s not the same.”

“What do you mean it’s not the same?” Scylla scoffed. “Just because they decided they didn’t want to fight doesn’t mean they aren’t less worthy. I was one of them too.”

Raelle placed a palm on the side of her face. “I’m sorry, Scylla. I didn’t mean-“

“My parents were, too.” Scylla continued, her anger festering. “They don’t get a fancy headstone like your mom, Raelle. It doesn’t mean they should be forgotten.”

“Okay!” Raelle exclaimed. “Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.” She reached out to grab Scylla’s hands, and Scylla reluctantly let her. “I was only thinking of myself.”

They stood there in silence before Raelle broke it again. “I’ll come with you again.” She said softly. “We’ll bring something for your parents.”

Scylla looked to Raelle with slight surprise in her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Raelle said with certainty. “I am absolutely sure.”

“Thank you.” Scylla said softly.

“Of course.” Raelle pulled Scylla closer. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
